QNX powering the 2015 Audi TT user-programmable instrument cluster

While Adam was busy checking out the Mercedes CLA45 AMG at CES 2014, Audi was busy showing off their use of the QNX CAR Platform for Infotainment in the 2015 Audi TT by introducing the new user-programmable instrument cluster (FPK). The display is no longer a separate piece of equipment in the car, instead the whole instrument cluster itself is a display offering the driver everything they would need with the ability to customize it on the go.

There's no real loyalty there either though, you can have one system in one car and another in a different car. Plus, there's still the question of how Android would run. As a layer on top of QNX or as the core OS.

Interesting... the way they announced it sounded like they were all gung-ho about android in car and expanding its footprint. Installing anything outside of android seems strange for their "partnership".

My brother is a VP of engineering for AG. I have not talked to him about there android partnerships and I'm sure he would not tell me even if I asked!!!! However, I can tell you they run BlackBerry as their main devices of communication and he has told me in the past of dedication to BlackBerry QNX for "creature comfort"

I'm not sure if this will change anytime soon unless BlackBerry does something to disappoint.

Sparky you might not be trolling, but saying that you are sure something is going to fail it seems like if you are wishing for it, if you do a little background check QNX is been running on cars a for a long time, and not to mention: space shuttles, satélites, nuclear plants, medical instruments etc.

OK sparky,I did your homework for you. This is an article you should have read:

For more than a decade, QNX — the same QNX that makes BlackBerry’s (BBRY) new mobile operating system known as BlackBerry 10 – has developed software specifically tailored toward the auto industry. Ask analysts what reputation QNX carries, and you’ll get phrases like “rock solid” or “a solution for things that can’t crash,” fitting considering the potential consequences of a computer failure while traveling at freeway speeds. (In a 2003 interview, one QNX customer jokingly told Fortune, “The only way to make this software malfunction is to fire a bullet into the computer running it.”) QNX has wielded this reputation to carve out an early hold on the so-called infotainment market share, shipping more than 9 million units in 2011, over 60% of all such units sold, according to Derek Kuhn, vice president of sales and marketing. Audi, Toyota (TM), BMW, Porsche, Honda (HMC), Land Rover — QNX has been in them all, and Kuhn estimates QNX software currently operates in “tens of millions” of cars around the globe. An automotive industry report from IHS pegs infotainment revenues at $6.7 billion for 2013.

Short version: Sparky is right; this will cost big bucks to fix when it fails due to automaker cheapness and not in any way due to any fault in QNX.

TL;DR version:

Sparky, this is exactly what I came to post. While it's tremendously cool that it's QNX being used here, this is just one more way of replacing separate gauges/displays/indicators with a single, expensive point of failure.

To all of you who have so far replied to Sparky's comment: Please unbunch your underwear and re-read his comment, focusing on only the words he typed. Nowhere does he imply that QNX is not robust, is unreliable, or is untrustworthy. He is merely pointing out that if something goes wrong -- WHICH COULD WELL BE DUE TO A VEHICLE DEFECT OR FAILURE WHICH IS IN NO WAY A FAULT OF THE QNX OS -- and the panel needs to be replaced, it will likely cost very large currency denominations. In the meantime, the vehicle's operation is severely compromised; perhaps to the point of significant safety issues.

Every layer of complexity added to a system makes that system more likely to fail, and more time-consuming and expensive to repair. Therefore, minimizing UNNECESSARY complexity is a primary design goal when creating a mission-critical component like a car. Don't misunderstand me; I think this is ultra-cool -- but I wouldn't trust the car manufacturer to implement it reliably or economically. They're likely doing this solely to reduce the number of components involved in the assembly of the vehicle; adding advertisable features while reducing assembly labor costs.

Remember that automakers must minimize costs in every way possible, at the level of fractions of a cent per component, in order to stay competitive. And while the average life of a consumer-owned vehicle has increased a lot over recent years, planned obsolescence still plays a major role in driving new vehicle sales. These are two motivations for automakers to ensure that such a display would be constructed using the least expensive and least reliable components. Automakers also have a vested interest in keeping their franchised dealers in business -- and dealerships make their money on parts and service (and used car sales), not so much on new car sales any more -- so it makes sense for the manufacturers to design systems that require expensive replacement parts and lots of labor hours to repair. So these combined motivations make it almost certain that carmakers will use parts that are inexpensive to them due to cheap construction, install them in such a way that it takes many hours and expensive, proprietary tools to repair or replace, and allow their dealer network to jack up the price of these proprietary components when selling them retail.

Costs will not be big ... the main costs has to do with the recalls being in-efficient.
Audi's MMI has always used QNX, the core for entertainment controls is from MOST, but controlling that and UI and control mapping is all done with QNX even down to sensor read/write mapping, along with engine fuel timing, ignition timing, et cetera, et cetera (etc).

It's using an imbedded system and for the nature of QNX's Neutrino it's prioritized on which components are core and which are secondary or 'stacked' to run.

Turn on your car from egnition button ... does it take 3 mins to start the engine? Does it take 3 mins to light up the instrumentation cluster? Does it take 3mins to enable the stereo, MMI system? No it doesn't the ONLY thing that takes close to 2mins is 1) phone system, and 2) GPS - both of which are outside of the QNX control system as 1) requires phone signal (including data GGSN registration), and 2) GPS satellite reception and connection both of which systems take a few moments to appropriate.

The cost is from under warranty repairs that is expensive to car manufacturers, and in efficient car component recalls ... instead of thousands to be recalled, checked by highly skilled and paid technicians for an hour or more en masse per capita, province/state, or per country ... using QNX Cloud could considerably reduce these costs! MMI systems are a sell to the car for consumers.

Seems to me they may not be many ph***k ups, like to think the testing was done,,,aint QNX already working in some power plants and drones. Kinda think if it's reliable enough for that it should be able to look after instrument panels on a car

I like this move. Was never a fan of things like navigation on the centre stack display. Too far from the road to be safe in my opinion. The only thing better than this would be a HUD... please bring on the HUD!... But do not release the C.H.U.D.! haha

I completely agree. The problem with something like this is that it will be a distraction that has the potential to be deadly. It looks great, but just seems to me like putting too much emphasis on the driver controlling everything. Some people have a hard time driving properly in the first place, distractions like this will only complicate things and reduce driver awareness of everything that is going on outside the car.

In the meantime, Black Hat Asia will demonstrate how you can remote control a car using $20's worth of off the shelf equipment... Keep on putting more and more computer bits in our cars and hackers will have fun blocking overcrowded motorways...

I have been dreaming of this to get into one of my favorite manufacturer and audio has finally done it. As the daily driver and putting 35-40k every year I want a car built to adapt to what I want and not the passenger. After my current car, I'm going audio. (a3 or a4)

Reading some of the comments in this thread, really shows how little information was posted - not to blame Bla1ze. Yet it does highlight the need for main page blog entries at CrackBerry NEED to be fully informative … being the first to publish articles on news isn’t the most important thing and showing facts (linking previous articles that have source information or historical information) should be heavily considered in the future. Mostly considering Kevin’s post early last week stating that CrackBerry intends to remain the BIGGEST and FIRST site for anything related to BlackBerry (that includes QNX).

@mauro316,
I’ve already posted a reply;)

@slagman5,
Audi has sold the most luxury cars in 2011, 2012, and 2013 on a global scale, and orders are up 114% thus far for 2014; overrated my ass.

@SparkyBC,

Comparing automotive component controls to a space vehicle’s/stations controls or nuclear will have a greater daily impact on lives - aside from a nuclear power plant failure the size of Chernobyl.

Audi A7 Autonomous Self-Driving Car (debuted CES 2014 in Las Vegas)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttFMRPCe15M
- The care is designed to give drivers time to take a break on long drivers, not as a direct replacement for all driving. Using the system the car will stay in lane at less than 40 mph, set a distance from the car in front.
PS: you’ll notice just how natural the digital layout of the road up ahead is with the drivers instrument cluster. This is running QNX!

Audi’s A7 Autonomous Self-Driving Car “IS” using QNX not the Open Automotive Alliance’s solution by android.http://ideas.4brad.com/ces-robocar-news
“Audi is demonstrating their A7 with new self-drive features at CES. It even has Nevada plate number 046 for Autonomous vehicle testing — people are wondering who all these plates have gone to. Google only took a few, Continental took some, and Audi took some around 007. While nobody does primary testing in Nevada, everybody doing test demos at CES needs these plates.”

Good thinking! To be honest I feel BlackBerry’s next major purchase ‘should’ be of MOST: Media Oriented Systems Transport from Microchip Technology - considering it’s used in almost every car brand worldwide, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Volvo. Both SMSC & most are registered trademarks of Microchip Technology. Buying this company can not only add to QNX’s team expertise, also add a larger footprint to controlling the automotive industry (becoming more lucrative), but also more incentive for these clients to buy into QNX Cloud infrastructure! But I also feel the first and cheapest is to have QNX co-advertised with announcements and shows like CES etc as Android is getting it’s brand-name advertised and further into the mindset of customers; this is crucial!

SparkyBC, … and the video at the end of my comment has nothing to do with a QNX failure, this was purely driver stupidity.

Reading some of the comments in this thread, really shows how little information was posted - not to blame B1aze. Yet it does highlight the need for main page blog entries at CrackBerry NEED to be fully informative … being the first to publish articles on news isn’t the most important thing and showing facts (linking previous articles that have source information or historical information) should be heavily considered in the future. Mostly considering Kevin’s post early last week stating that CrackBerry intends to remain the BIGGEST and FIRST site for anything related to BlackBerry (that includes QNX).

@mauro316,
I’ve already posted a reply;)

@slagman5,
Audi has sold the most luxury cars in 2011, 2012, and 2013 on a global scale, and orders are up 114% thus far for 2014; overrated my ass.

@SparkyBC,

Comparing automotive component controls to a space vehicle’s/stations controls or nuclear will have a greater daily impact on lives - aside from a nuclear power plant failure the size of Chernobyl.

Audi A7 Autonomous Self-Driving Car (debuted CES 2014 in Las Vegas)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttFMRPCe15M
- The care is designed to give drivers time to take a break on long drivers, not as a direct replacement for all driving. Using the system the car will stay in lane at less than 40 mph, set a distance from the car in front.
PS: you’ll notice just how natural the digital layout of the road up ahead is with the drivers instrument cluster. This is running QNX!

Audi’s A7 Autonomous Self-Driving Car “IS” using QNX not the Open Automotive Alliance’s solution by android.http://ideas.4brad.com/ces-robocar-news
“Audi is demonstrating their A7 with new self-drive features at CES. It even has Nevada plate number 046 for Autonomous vehicle testing — people are wondering who all these plates have gone to. Google only took a few, Continental took some, and Audi took some around 007. While nobody does primary testing in Nevada, everybody doing test demos at CES needs these plates.”

Good thinking! To be honest I feel BlackBerry’s next major purchase ‘should’ be of MOST: Media Oriented Systems Transport from Microchip Technology - considering it’s used in almost every car brand worldwide, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Volvo. Both SMSC & most are registered trademarks of Microchip Technology. Buying this company can not only add to QNX’s team expertise, also add a larger footprint to controlling the automotive industry (becoming more lucrative), but also more incentive for these clients to buy into QNX Cloud infrastructure! But I also feel the first and cheapest is to have QNX co-advertised with announcements and shows like CES etc as Android is getting it’s brand-name advertised and further into the mindset of customers; this is crucial!

SparkyBC, … and the video at the end of my comment has nothing to do with a QNX failure, this was purely driver stupidity.

[QUOTE]So what do we think?
That Audi would want something more exclusive to itself would not be very surprising. It’s also likely that, much like Google maps that were functional in the Volkswagen new Golf R at last September’s Frankfurt Motor Show, Android-based infotainment in Audi will likely lead to re-skinned yet similar application in other Volkswagen Group products.

Another interesting facet of this pairing will be the potential conflict of brand loyalty between owners of both Audi products and Apple products. Both style-driven and technology-driven brands, it is not surprising that many Audi owners also own iPhones and Apple products. Even top staff at Apple own Audi models. Even still, Android seems to be in much higher popularity in critical markets like Asia.

So, will an iPhone owner sell or skip purchasing an Audi because he’s got an iOS device or will an Audi owner replace his iPhone with an Android? Or, will these platforms make any such problems unnecessary if each phone is made to be equally compatible?

Time will tell.[/QUOTE]

Here is where BlackBerry NEEDS to step UP their game! right now the general public has no idea what QNX is, where it is - even with late last years BB QNX commercial, and they don't know how their new BlackBerry 10 based system can connect to their cars seamlessly! This is a HUGE vertical problem and I personally do NOT see it as a consumer only issue because it's about a brand, product and services that when approaching large corporations such as auto manufacturers - say with QNX Cloud EMM/M2M solution - what's in their pockets will affect the signing purchase decision is what's in their minds: "will this work with my iOS/Android device?" (we really hope many will say Q10/Z10/Z30/Q5 but lets get real.

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